Teaching relationships and sexuality education in the classroom can be a challenge, particularly for those of you new to the material. But if you’ve taught it before, you’ll know how much your students appreciate it and how incredibly rewarding it can be. So whether you are just starting out or an old hand this resource aims to provide you with evidence based information and clear, easy to use activities.

There are 16 videos to help teachers get an idea of how it’s taught. If you want to view them as a YouTube playlist, you can find them over here.

Welcome - An Introduction to the Teacher Videos

Welcome to the professional development component of The Practical Guide to Love, Sex and Relationships - a teaching resource for Years 7 - 10. We bring together research and other scholarship on sexual health and respectful relationships education to challenge 'pressured' sex.

What Young People Want

Effective sexuality and relationships education is relevant to young people. What are they telling us?

What the Research Says

The results of the Fifth National Survey of Australia Secondary Students and Sexual Health by the Australian Research Centre in Sex, Health and Society, La Trobe University. You can download a copy of the Fifth National Survey of Australian Secondary Students and Sexual Health report here.

A More Inclusive Space

Get some tips about how to set up your classroom so that the diverse group of young people in front of you feel safe and included.

Practical Strategies - Sexuality Timeline

'What is the average age of first sexual feelings, falling in love, becoming gay or straight, seeing porn?' Support students to check their expectations of what's 'normal' on the Sexuality Timeline.

Practical Strategies - Perfect Match

Challenging students’ expectations of romance, love and the role a partner might play in their life, and whether it’s realistic to expect that one person can be everything.

Practical Strategies - When's the Right Time?

Setting new standards for how sex and relationships work. Students reflect on how they’d like the first time, or the next time to be.

Practical Strategies - Comfort Zone 1

What’s ok for me isn’t necessarily what’s ok for someone else, and ethical sex means both people need to be comfortable. What are my ‘no way-not evers’, my ‘maybe now or in the future’ or my ‘yes pleases!’

Practical Strategies - Comfort Zone 2

Challenging the idea that it’s normal and acceptable to pressure someone to have sex.

Responding to Tricky Questions

Tips on how to respond to tricky questions that are often part of a sexuality education program.

New Challenges - Contraception

Important developments in contraception have made a big difference to preventing unplanned teenage pregnancy. Check it out.

New Challenges - Disclosures of Sexual Assault

What to do if a student discloses details of a non-consensual sexual encounter.

New Challenges - Porn

How does porn measure up when it come to ethical sexual encounters? Helping students to critique porn through the lens of ‘Taking care of me, taking care of you, having an equal say and learning as we go’.

New Challenges - Sexting

Is sexting as bad as they say it is? How are young people using it and what do they need to know?

Is sexting as bad as they say it is? How are young people using it and what do they need to know?